The use of interns has raised concern given the importance of the major case review by the miscarriage of justice body the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC). It said last month that it would be re-examining cases it had refused to refer to the court of appeal to check for new DNA testing opportunities.
An internal CCRC board paper seen by the Guardian shows that the exercise has so far been carried out by interns, who have begun the process of whittling down cases that could be sent for further DNA checks.
The case review has been trumpeted as having the potential to uncover further wrongful convictions missed by the body. However, Emily Bolton, Malkinson's solicitor at the law charity Appeal, said: "Given the seriousness of this review, it is concerning that so far the work has been done mainly by interns." Marked "official sensitive" and partly redacted, the paper was written by the casework operations director on 8 March and sent to Malkinson's legal team in response to a freedom of information request.
This story is from the May 03, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the May 03, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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